1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an environment transfer system of an information apparatus. More particularly, it relates to an environment transfer system of an information apparatus including an information processing unit which incorporates an OS (Operating System), such as a personal computer, an information home electronics like an intelligent telephone, or a PDA (personal digital assistant). The environment transfer system permits a respective personal user to transfer a user environment from one information apparatus to another information apparatus, by himself or herself, without requiring an assistance of others, such as an administrator of a network system, when such an information apparatus is to be exchanged, or when otherwise necessary.
2. Description of Relevant Art
Such an information apparatus includes a user environment of the OS level which each user can set up or change.
The user environment comprises a group of hierarchical environment elements which can be set up individually. Upper-level environment elements are set up by setting lower-level environment elements, and the lower-level environment elements are set up by defining attribute values of various setup items therein.
For instance, in the case of a personal computer in which an OS of a Windows type is installed, there are: upper environment elements such as a "control panel" and a "printer" to be indicated in a sub-menu when a "set up" in a "start" menu of the OS is selected; medium environment elements such as a "screen", an "internet" and a "mail and fax" to be indicated with appropriate icons when the "control panel" is opened among the upper environment elements; and lower environment elements such as a "background", a "screen saver" and a "design" to be indicated in an indexed manner when an icon of the "screen" is selected among the medium environment elements.
Further, if e.g. an index of the "background" is clicked, setup items such as a "pattern" and a "wallpaper" are indicated, or if an index of the "screen saver" is clicked, setup items named "screen saver" and "display power saving functions" are indicated.
These setup items have their hierarchical attributes, and most of the attributes have their attribute values preset so as to be changeable at the user end. Each user may accept all of those preset default values, or change some of them to other selective attribute values. If no default values are given, the user may write real numeric values and/or characters.
The setting of setup items is thus completed, whereby lower environment elements are set up, as well as medium and upper environment elements to be likewise set up, relative to associated attributes.
Among such environment elements of the hierarchical user environment, each environment element comprises a set of attributes involved in lower environment elements or setup items, and concurrently serve as a setup item for upper environment elements. This means each attribute also is an environment element of the user environment.
In this sense, the user environment of an OS comprises a plurality of hierarchical environment elements which can be set by a user, and these environment elements are frequently renewed or updated in a voluntary manner in accordance with the know-how and preferences of the user.
Thus, the user environment is a kind of co-work by the OS and a user, and constitutes an important information asset for the user.
The information asset is conceptually different from a mere file consisting of OS programs or application programs, or user input data edited on those programs. It has been impossible for the conventional OS to collectively transfer such information assets.
However, the information apparatus and the OS are very frequently renewed into new versions, and users exchange the information apparatus, as necessary.
In such occasions of exchanging the information apparatus, an OS of a new version normally includes environment elements which correspond to the OS of the old version.
Thus, conventionally, users used to record detailed setup information for each of concerned environment elements in the information apparatus, and in accordance with the records, the users used to set corresponding environment elements in the new information apparatus all over again.
Consequently, when a user desires to buy a new information apparatus or an OS of a higher version, he or she is troubled, taking a long time for maintaining the information assets.
This kind of problems have been caused in the fact that the design of the conventional OS's has failed to provide conveniences with a view to an open management of the user environment to users. In this case, it is extremely difficult for any user to deal with this problem by making a program externally connectable to an OS of an information apparatus, because not only technical difficulties but also an issue of a copyright is involved.